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. 2011 Apr;9(4):e1001050.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001050. Epub 2011 Apr 19.

Nematodes: the worm and its relatives

Mark Blaxter  1
Affiliations

Nematodes: the worm and its relatives

Mark Blaxter. PLoS Biol. 2011 Apr.

Erratum in

  • PLoS Biol. 2011 Apr;9(4). doi: 10.1371/annotation/083d39ea-2269-4915-9297-bc6d9a9f7c58
No abstract available

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Conflict of interest statement

The author has declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The simple life cycle and anatomy of C. elegans.
(A) C. elegans has a direct life cycle, with eggs developing through four larval stages into sexual adults. The larvae resemble the adults except in the lack of fully developed gonads, and their smaller size. The illustration shows the timing of developmental events at 25°C, with hours since fertilisation on the outside of the circle, and hours since hatching on the inside. Moults are indicated by solid black bars. In the hermaphrodite, the first ∼250 germ cells develop as sperm (after the L3 to L4 moult); later germ cells develop as oocytes. In conditions of overcrowding, starvation, or high temperature, C. elegans L1 commit to enter an alternate developmental pathway (via a lipid-storing alternate L2d) that results in the production of a diapausal dauer (“enduring”) L3d. The L3d is non-feeding, resistant to environmental insult, and displays arrested ageing. The L3d resumes development when exposed to sufficient food resources. Other nematodes also have a five-stage life cycle, punctuated by four moults, and many species, including parasites, also have a dauer-like L3 stage. (B) The adult hermaphrodite anatomy is simply observed under light microscopy. Above is an adult animal (length ∼1 mm). In the cartoon below the major organ systems are indicated.
Figure 2
Figure 2. The relationships of the Nematoda.
This phylogeny is based on molecular phylogenetic analyses utilising the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene. The systematic names given by De Ley and Blaxter , are given, as is the “clade” naming convention introduced by Blaxter et al. in 1998 . More recently, Helder and colleagues , have introduced a numerical clade name scheme: this is given in outlined letters below the relevant branches. Feeding mode, and animal and plant parasitic and vector associations, are indicated by small icons, and representative species are named for some groups. Species with a sequenced genome are indicated by an asterisk.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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